Pickle forks are supposed to last the life of the plane, and now there's a 5% early failure rate. This is terrible news for Southwest and other carriers that are heavily invested in 737's. (komonews.com) Más...

ANY crack is a propagating defect and on a primary wing structure is damn important, it can be the result of several things, improper material, improper heat treat, improper installation. cracks in Aluminum aircraft structure are not unusual but they never heal themselves and the AD was called for.

As i am not knowledgeable about Pickle Forks , i just finished watching Mentor Pilot . While it clarifies what is of concern in this AD , i'd like to know how you permanently repair alleged one inch cracks in a very thick slab of a Pickle Fork ? Any thoughts , i'd like to hear from you ........DGR

Hi Quentin ....I did a Google search and found nothing about who makes them , but a lot on what a PF is . I suppose the Forks are manufactured by a Sub-Contractor who really wants to remain un-known at this time .

"There could be dire results if the pickle fork system on the jet fails in flight."

"Could" be? Is it possible that a pickle fork fails and the result is *not* dire? I don't know aviation, so that's not a sarcastic question. I'm wondering whether the so-called journalist should've used the word "would" instead of "could"?

So, Andrew, do you expect this so-called journalist to also be a qualified engineer or also be a certifiable lunatic (with the ability to see into the future)?

A journalist doesn't need to know aviation (or the economy, or law, or medicine). What they need to know is journalism, which is exactly what would prevent them from drawing a conclusion like the one you just asked for.

What worries me about the PF failing is this . If one of the 4 involved does " snap " or " cracks " clean through ,will the load transfer cause the 3 others , to potentially fail ? Any ideas ? Please let me know .........DGR

Are you aware that on Friday evening , Boeing's CEO and Chairman Mr. Dennis Muilburg , was removed by the Board of Directors . Mr . Muilburg has been asked to stay on in another capacity , overseeing the Max and NG problems . While this was offered , i do not know if he has or will accept the offer .........DGR

Hmmmm...I flew SW just under 2 weeks ago. The plane I was to fly in was taken OOS when it arrived at my departing airport. As a result my flight was delayed 3 hours while we waited for another plane to arrive from another state. I wonder if this had anything to do with it?